Life Would Be
by Eleanor Ariail
Summary: Life Would Be A Ding a Derry, If I Only Had a Brain. Moments plucked from throughout the lives of Glitch and DG.
1. Having a Brain

Life Would Be (A Ding-a-Derry, If I Only Had a Brain) Moments plucked from throughout the lives of Glitch and DG.

* * *

His eyes slowly opened. Looking around, he could see he was in a soft beige room, with a small placard on the wall. He sat up slowly, noticing the tubes and wires running from his body. His head, unusually heavy, began to loll forward, so he put his hands up to catch it. He found that he had a soft, gauzy bandage covering his head, and when he pressed his hands into it, there was a dull, throbbing ache. He looked over at the sign on the wall. "Central City Memorial Hospital, Cerebralatric Ward" 

Cerebral.

He began to think.

That meant brain, which he hadn't had before, well, he had, but that had been a long time ago, and then he didn't for a while, well, he had half left, or really a little less than half, but it had been so taxing to try to explain exactly which pieces were left and which were gone, that he had finally just started saying half, or none at all, which is what it felt like most of the time, but now everything was all right, and he could finally get the missing parts put back together, which of course was why he was here, and obviously it worked because, hey, here he was thinking!

But who was he? A memory flashed in his thoughts, a woman calling, "Ambrose! Dinner's ready! Where are you?" He had been sitting up in a tree for the past several hours, just gazing out across the land, talking to himself some, but mostly just thinking and imagining. When he heard his name, he was so startled, he forgot where he was, and slid off the branch. When he had opened his eyes again, the woman, his mother, was standing above him shaking her head. She had had soft, curly black hair, just like his, but her eyes were much harder. "Ambrose, what were you thinking? You could have broken your skull! Now get inside and wash up!"

Ambrose. But he remembered something else too. He had built a mechanical bird, one that would sing a song and flap its wings. A little dark haired girl was playing with it, when it started repeating the same notes over and over, and one of its wings limped loosely. The girl, a princess, he remembered, had brought it to him barely holding in her tears. "He's glitching! Make him better!" It had only been a few pieces missing, a spring and two little wheels, probably knocked out while the little girl was on an adventure somewhere. That same memory had come to him unexpectedly a few years later, as he had sat by the side of the road, rocking back and forth, and repeating to himself, "What's my name? What's my name?" Glitch.

He clung to that too. Whenever he lost track of his surroundings, he'd fall back to that. "Hi, my name is Glitch!" No matter what he would forget, that he never lost. With that thought securely anchored in the back of his head, he let his mind run through the events of the past several years, through his mindless wandering, until he met up with DG. How he had helped her, and found new friends along the way. The first people since he had lost his brain who really cared about him. And he had come through for them, too, helping to stop the Sun Seeder, saving the kingdom, saving DG. Oh, DG. She was his true constant, a neat little blue thread, tying together the parts of his life and his thoughts. It was she who had pushed for his immediate surgery, despite the royal family's distractions with cleaning up the OZ. Come to think of it actually, that surgery still had him pretty drained. With that last thought, he laid his head back into the pillows and slept again.

Later that day, Raw came into his room along with a couple of nurses. He had insisted on personally overseeing Glitch's recovery, so that he could help speed the healing. He gently touched his hand to the side of Glitch's bandages. Reaching tentatively into the fragile mind, he found that the various replaced segments were connecting as hoped for. Glitch, or Ambrose now, he supposed, would have all of his memories intact. He would have to wait for the man to wake up before he could test his recovery further. For now, though, he merely soothed the rough edges were the brain was fusing itself together, and let him sleep. He pulled out gently, and left the nurses to tend to his physical needs. DG was waiting in the hallway to hear the latest report.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

"Brain is joining up well." Raw said quietly.

"Can you tell if he remembers being Glitch?" She hesitated, nervously. "Or… has he changed?"

"Raw not know. Have to wake up to tell that." He sadly patted the girl on the arm, trying to comfort her.

She had talked with Azkedelia about Ambrose, and she had remembered him as a slightly stuffy, sometimes rude, young man. DG hoped with all her heart that her good friend Glitch would not be lost in restoring his brain, but she feared the worst.

"Nurses just fluff his pillows, you can go see him," Raw offered kindly, then walked away with a final, reassuring smile. DG smiled back and went to open the door.

She cracked it slightly and stuck her head in. A nurse had just started to tug on the pillow directly beneath his hand, and it snagged his bandage a little. He woke with a start and looked around irritably.

"Oh, sorry about that Mr. Glitch," the nurse apologized.

He quirked his mouth in a frown. "My name is Ambrose," he snapped, "Watch the wrapping, eh?" He pulled his face into a sarcastic grin, then quickly dropped it, grumbling a little as he fell back asleep.

DG pulled her head back away from the door just as the first tears began to fall. He really was gone. The man who had been her companion, her best friend, since she first returned to the OZ was dead, leaving only a bitter old brain to run his body. He wouldn't even know her, except as some kid that probably used to annoy him. It would be better to just leave him alone, she realized. With that thought she walked slowly down the quiet hallway, and headed back to the car to go home to Finaqua.

A week or so later, she heard that Ambrose had returned to the palace, and would be continuing his recovery in his old, familiar surroundings. She had managed to avoid both Raw and Cain, knowing they would just encourage her to get to know the new man that had been Glitch. She didn't want to even speak to him though. She knew she wouldn't be able to look into his expressive brown eyes ever again without imagining a daffy smile and wild curls. Ambrose had taken her Glitch, and she couldn't forgive him for that.

Over the next few days, she managed to avoid group meals, and she stayed away from the lower west section of the palace, where she had been told his rooms were. One night, as she was creeping down to the kitchens for a late dinner, she heard a metallic noise, a familiar rhythmic clinking, from around the corner. She froze against the wall. There was only one person who made a noise like that, the noise of a zipper pull bouncing with every footstep. She ducked behind a tapestry hanging against the wall and held her breath as the clinking drew closer. It paused right in front of her, and she squinted her eyes shut, praying he would continue on. The tapestry was yanked away suddenly, and the cool air swirled around her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Glitch's face directly in front of hers.

"What are you doing?" he asked, with an all too familiar puzzled look in his eyes.

She gulped in pain at the sight of him this close, knowing it wasn't him at all. "Um… I just saw a mouse run behind here, so I thought I would try to find its hole?" She said, grasping for an explanation.

He looked down. "I don't see any holes. Or mice. Might be because it's too dark, this late. Right?" He raised an eyebrow at her, seeing straight through the excuse. "I've been trying to come see you ever since I got here. Where have you been all this time?"

DG kept her eyes to the side of his face, staring off into the dark. "I've been busy…. I didn't think you would be looking for me; you haven't seen me since I was a child after all…."

"Ok, now, DG, just because I have my marbles back doesn't mean that you can lose yours!" He said with a big, but slightly confused, grin.

"Glitch?" She asked, her eyes finally meeting his as he nodded, "I thought you were gone!" She launched herself away from the wall and into him, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing into his hair.

"Omph! Hey, it's okay! I'm here, I'm alright," he said, trying to soothe her.

"But, I saw you when the nurse woke you up, you said you were Ambrose… You were kind of rude to her. That's not you!" She pulled back, sliding her hands down to his waist, and looked at him suspiciously.

"I am Ambrose, but I'm still Glitch too; I have all my memories now! And, I guess I can be a little rude at times…. I seem to recall being a little hostile towards you the first time we met." He ducked his head sheepishly.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry, I've been ignoring you all this time, I would have stayed with you if I had known!" DG looked devastated.

"It's alright, I thought it might have been something like this. Cain and Raw were trying to find you to tell you too, but you've been pretty scarce here lately," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, I-" she started.

"You've been pretty scarce here lately," he said, shaking his head.

"Wait, what was that? You just glitched! I thought they fixed that!"

"Oh? Well, mostly everything is fixed…. It's all there, but the old synapses still like to frizz out on me sometimes." He frowned a little, looking as embarrassed as he did when they met.

"Oh Glitch. It's alright. At least you can remember now. You can tell me all about who you are, and what the OZ was like when I was little!" She said, leading him down the hall, arms wrapped around each other.

"Well, I was born in a little town, not far from Central City." Their voices faded merrily into the darkness as they made their way towards the kitchen.


	2. Powerful Thoughts

**Summary: **Glitch is adjusting to his new life, but still having some difficulties...  
**Notes:** This chapter is dedicated to the men and women of law enforcement (my husband especially!)

* * *

Months passed and the residents of Finaqua began to settle into a regular routine. The royal family would meet with their council every morning. There, they would plan and monitor the progress towards restoring the trust of the people and the health of the lands. The queen would often go on to sit in meetings throughout the day with various advisors and diplomats. Ahamo had returned to the Realm of the Unwanted, rallying the people there and promising protection and respect under the crown. The princesses spent most of their time studying the people and the law of the OZ, as one girl had been gone for years, and the other had been completely disregarding both.

Ambrose, as he was going by to the public, spent most of his day with other great minds, gathered together to rebuild the kingdom. He was proving to be an invaluable resource, always contributing in their meetings.

This day, however, he was relaxing outside with DG. They were walking along a garden path, when they came upon a net hammock overlooking an open field.

"Oh, we used to have a hammock when I was little," DG pulled Glitch over to it. "Come on, there's room for two!"

"Alright, you get on that side, so we'll balance out," Glitch said, always thinking ahead now.

Unfortunately, thinking about the right way to get in a hammock is often much easier than doing it. They laid down at the same time, and ended up rolling into the center, their bodies suddenly pressed flush together.

DG was the first to get over the shock of being nose to nose unexpectedly. Giggling, she wriggled away onto her back as he did the same. "Sorry about that, I remember it being a lot easier!"

He smiled back, "That's okay, at least we didn't end up on the ground." He finished settling in, and rolled his head back to stare at the clouds. Their arms were just barely brushing together now.

They relaxed together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. DG was looking across the field, watching someone in the distance grooming a horse. "It's a beautiful view," she said.

"Yes, it is." He had turned his head so he could see her lying next to him. She cut her eyes at him, second guessing his meaning. He merely smiled enigmatically.

Ever since they made up after his surgery, they had been spending most of their free time together. At first it was wonderful, just like old times, but now, DG wasn't sure what was happening. There were moments when she would have sworn he was flirting with her, but as soon as she tried to return the gesture, he seemed to close up and become distant.

Now her skin was burning where their hands brushed together, and she felt her heart jump into her throat when his littlest finger rubbed up over hers and hooked around it.

She gulped loudly, but didn't say anything about it, trying not to scare him off again. "Oh look, here comes Az." The older princess was riding a beautiful pinto, her soft riding dress fluttering around her legs, and her hair pulled back in a simple braid.

Glitch sat up as she galloped by. "That's a nice horse." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "That horse looks familiar. Cain once had a horse. It saved his life."

DG looked at him when she felt his hand go rigid. He was staring into space, his eyes twitching a little and his mouth in an open grin.

"What if a person could have a horse all over them? That could save lots of lives."

"What?" DG was beginning to get concerned. It was sometimes hard to tell if Glitch was experiencing a moment of brilliance or mental failure. She suspected this was a little of both.

"But it would have to be flexible... I have to write this down!" With that, he jumped up out of the hammock, sending it rocking wildly. DG was promptly thrown off the other side and landed hard in the dirt.

Moaning and rubbing her sore places, she got up slowly to see Glitch running back to the palace. She made her way after him as quickly as she could, calling out for him to wait for her. After a mad dash to the door, she only saw the tails of his coat around corners as he hurried through the halls ahead of her, making his way to his office in the western most part of the palace. The pain in her hip finally grew too great for her to run, so she slowed down to a hobble until she got to his door.

Glitch was sitting in the floor, his back slumped against a wall, a closed notebook hanging limply from one hand. He looked heartbroken; his eyes were unfocused and his chin trembled. DG knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him out of his despair. He turned to her and said, "I forgot. It was a wonderful, important idea, and I've already forgotten it."

Forgetting her own pain for a moment, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and sat next to him. "We'll work on it together. I'll help you remember," she tried to encourage him.

"But it's not just this. It's been happening to me all the time lately." He propped his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. "I'm fine when I'm talking to other people, when I'm in meetings. It's only when I try to record ideas on my own that I'm having trouble."

He began to gesture with his hands. "Every night, as I lay in bed trying to sleep, brilliant and powerful thoughts come to me, driving me to find a pen and notebook, but by the time I pick them up, my mind goes blank again. A few times I've been lucky, and could remember something the next day, but most of the time it's gone forever." He glanced at DG, then looked away in shame.

DG just rubbed her hand over his back comfortingly. "Sounds like you just need a little help. How about you tell me what your thinking, and I can write it down?"

He looked up at her with a cautious hope. "You really think that will work?"

She smiled at him, "I don't see why not. You can talk about your thoughts just fine."

"Are you sure you can keep up with me though?" He ducked his head bashfully, but grinned at her through his eyelashes.

DG laughed, happy to see her friend regaining his confidence. "Are you kidding? I was a waitress and a part-time college student before I came back here. I have an excellent shorthand."

Glitch handed her the notebook and pen that he had dropped in the floor. "Well, let's get started. What was I saying when I came in here anyway?"

DG stood up and took the small book over to the desk. She got comfortable, then looked back at him. "You said something about horses, and how they saved Mr. Cain's life one time?"

"Of course! It was his son's toy horse. It caught the bullet when Zero shot him." He began to pace around the room. "If we had something like that that could be worn over the body, at least covering the vital organs, something that could stop bullets."

He stopped and stared at the wall, shaking his head. "But wood would never work on a large scale; it would shatter, and they couldn't move in it. No, we need something soft and flexible, but strong enough to absorb the impact of a bullet... Silk!!" He jumped straight up in the air as he shouted the last word. DG wrote furiously, keeping up with every word.

His eyes were wide and his hands were flying wildly through the air as he stalked around the room. "Woven together thickly, I think it could work! I'd have to do trials on it, test the bullet speeds, experiment with different plies, and thread counts, and weaving styles, maybe soak it in something first... This could change the world! All the tin men in the OZ could have one, soldiers too! No more scaring people like when Cain was shot. Of course, he fell out the window too, which made things a lot worse." Glitch began wringing his hands.

"I was so frightened. I just knew he was dead, and what would we do then? How could a brainless fool and a timorous viewer be any help to you? And you!" He spun around on her, pointing briefly, then turning away again.

"You scare me to death too! You always have. But of course, now, it's worse. Because, now, every time I see you, all I can think of is how I want you, but I can't tell you that! I can't tell you how you make my mind spin, how you inspire me..."

DG heard a small 'tink' and stopped writing to look over at Glitch. He was resting his forehead against the window, gazing out forlornly, with the bottom stop of his zipper against the glass. "I can't help it though, every time I see you, I want to take you in my arms and kiss you, and more, but that's horrible and you would never want-"

He was cut off suddenly as she threw the notebook to the floor and stood up. He spun around, horrified, realizing the last few words he had spoken. DG walked up to the dumbfounded man with a determined look, took him by the shoulders, and kissed him. His mouth was frozen in a slight "o" of surprise, and his arms were limp by his side as he allowed her to push him back against the window.

She pulled back to look into his wide eyes and smiled a little. "You're right, you do have really good ideas," she whispered next to his lips, "And I am absolutely certain that they will all work out."


End file.
